Driving ranges are widely used by golfers to practice their swing for the game of golf. Typically, a user of the driving range rents a bucket of golf balls and positions herself at one of the tee-off positions. These tee-off positions routinely have a mat of artificial grass and a rubber tee mounted through a hole in the grass so that the user can successively mount golf balls and hit them into the driving range with little or no damage to the tee-off position.
One problem with such driving ranges is that it is difficult, at best, to determine the distance of a golf ball hit into the driving range. First, there are typically several or many users simultaneously hitting balls into the range, making the discrimination of your ball difficult. Secondly, the only markers available to a user relating to distance are--typically--a series of signs spaced in set distances (such as fifty yards) from the user. Accordingly, a user can sometimes estimate the distance a ball travels, once hit, to their perceived accuracy in determining where the ball landed relative to one of those signs.
Even this technique is difficult. Driving ranges generally use old and dull-looking balls, reducing their reflective properties and further hindering a user's ability to monitor golf ball movement, especially at dusk or at night, with artificial lighting.
In addition to distance measurements, users of the driving range can only estimate other performance factors, such as slices, draws and the like, by visually monitoring the ball's travel during flight. There is no quantitative analysis of the swing, and there can be no playback of a prior hit unless the user also has a camcorder.
Finally, users at a driving range have no automatic method of statistically measuring their performances, over time, for various factors such as average club distance, drive improvements, etc., other than by keeping a paper record of the data in a log book or portable computer.